Roots reggae

Roots reggae is a sub-genre of Reggae music which evolved in Jamaica from Ska and Rocksteady and was made famous outside the Caribbean by the legendary singer/songwriter Bob Marley. Roots reggae is an inherently spiritual Rastafari type of reggae music, the lyrics of which are predominantly in praise of Jah Ras Tafari Makonnen — Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia the Emperor of Ethiopia.

Recurrent lyrical themes include poverty and resistance to the oppression of government. The creative pinnacle of roots reggae is arguably in the late 1970s, with singers such as Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy, Barrington Levy, and Lincoln Thompson, teaming up with studio producers including Lee 'Scratch' Perry, King Tubby, and Coxsone Dodd. The experimental pioneering of such producers within often restricted technological parameters gave birth to dub, and is seen by some music historians as one of the earliest (albeit analogue) contributions to modern dance music production techniques.

Roots reggae is an important part of Jamaican culture, and whilst other forms of reggae have replaced it in terms of popularity in Jamaica (dancehall for instance), roots reggae has found a small, but growing, niche globally.

List of roots reggae artists

Singers, bands, and producers:

• The Abyssinians
• Alpha Blondy & The Solar System
• Alpha & Omega
• Anthony 'Sangie' Davis
• Ashanti Waugh
• Aswad
• Augustus Pablo
• Barrington Levy
• Beres Hammond
• Big Youth
• Black Uhuru
• Bob Marley & the Wailers
• Burning Spear
• Buju Banton
• Carlene Davis
• Carlton Jackson
• Cedric Myton
• The Congos
• Cornell Cambell
• COSMO
• Count Ossie
• Coxsone Dodd
• Culture
• Delroy Wilson
• Dennis Brown
• Denroy Morgan
• Devon Irons
• Don Carlos
• Dub Judah
• Earl Sixteen
• The Ethiopians
• Freddie McGregor
• Garnett Silk
• George Boswell
• The Gladiators
• Gregory Isaacs
• Groundation
• The Heptones
• Horace Andy
• Ijahman Levi
• Israel Vibration
• The Itals
• Jacob Miller
• Jah Shaka
• Jennifer Lara
• Johnny Clarke
• Johnny Osbourne
• Judy Mowatt
• Junior Murvin
• Junior Reid
• Kaliroots
• King Tubby
• Lee Scratch Perry
• Laurel Aitken
• Lincoln Thompson
• Linval Thompson
• Luciano
• Macka B
• Max Romeo
• Me & You
• Michael Rose
• Midnite
• The Mighty Diamonds
• Mighty Three
• Misty in Roots
• Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus
• Raices y Cultura (Panama)
• Roland Alphonso
• Pablo Moses
• Peter Broggs
• Peter Tosh
• Prince Far I
• Ras Sam Brown
• The Rastafarians
• Rhythm & Sound
• Root Souljah
• The Silvertones
• Sly & Robbie
• The Sons of Selassie
• Steel Pulse
• Sugar Minott
• Sylford Walker
• Tommy Cooks
• Toots & the Maytals
• Tribal Seeds
• Twinkle Brothers
• U-Roy
• The Upsetters
• The Viceroys
• The Velvet Shadows
• Winston Rodney
• Yabby U
• Yami Bolo

External links

• A listing of biographies and discographies of most Root Reggae artists
• A paper on the wider influence of Jah Shaka and Roots Reggae on UK music
• Adrian Sherwood on a "very English Roots Reggae"
• Don Letts on the contribution of Roots Reggae to Punk Rock and English Society
• Drum and Bass and Junglist have their Origins in Roots Reggae
• The Pil Interview
• Roots Reggae,Punk and Dub in the UK, part 2
• The Clash DJ Scratchy Explains his Roots in Punk and Roots Reggae in London
• The 90's UK Roots Reggae: The Disciples
• European Roots Reggae, Twilight Circus
• [1] Examining the use of psalms in Rasta lyrics.
• Rising Roots